The Day After Tomorrow

Anti-American director Roland Emmerich again makes a movie wherein he destroys New York City. Only this time, the movie doesn’t completely suck: It only partly sucks. Mixing the almost euphorically bad acting of Dennis Quaid with a lot of giant storms, TDAT tells the story of what would happen if a new ice age hit in just seven days. The special effects are amazing and so beautifully photographed and thoughtfully designed that they pretty much carry the movie. On the other hand, there’s a lame human-interest story wherein scientist Quaid must reconnect with his estranged son. The dialogue sounds like it was written by someone with the English language skills of George W. Bush, and the story is as sappy as a pine tree (see, pine trees are full of sap ... sorry, they can’t all be gems), but the overarching tale of global destructing is both thrilling and beautiful. If only someone would realize that we don’t need characters and plot to enjoy a film: just lots of computer-generated effects and someone aesthetically savvy enough to know how to film them. Emmerich might be that guy, if he could just stop trying to tell "stories."